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Hazleton man a guiding hand for community cooperation in Luzerne County

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ERIC CONOVER/Staff Photographer
Dan Guydish, executive director of the Mountain Council of Governments, is mentoring Luzerne County communities interested in forming a council of governments.

West Side communities considering formation of a council of governments have a tremendous template to follow and a mentor who brings enthusiasm and down-to-earth advice to the table.

The Mountain Council of Governments serves 24 entities in the greater Hazleton area, including communities, schools, authorities and community agencies. It fosters cooperation and cost-savings and, 20 years after its creation, it can boast of successes.

The guiding hands are those of Dan Guydish, 67, its part-time executive director. Guydish also serves as membership director for the Greater Hazleton Chamber of Commerce and he works from a modest office, a cubicle in a corner of the chamber's office on West Broad Street.

Even with its success, the council remains under-utilized, Guydish said.

"The state can better utilize COGs," he said, to build the type of cooperation needed as communities struggle to meet citizen needs during trying economic times. And, clusters of towns without COGs can form them, he said.

Guydish will be there when representatives of West Side towns meet Oct. 24 from 5 to 8 p.m. at the Knights of Columbus home in Luzerne. The session is being billed as the "kickoff" for the COG, although meetings have been held over the last year.

The spark plug behind the West Side COG is Eileen Cipriani, president of West Wyoming Borough Council. She has advocated for communities banding together to meet common needs and, in preparation for the Oct. 24 session, all towns have been asked to complete an inventory checklist and list priorities.

When West Side COG representatives met earlier this summer, code enforcement emerged as an area where officials said cooperation could help many towns.

Guydish has attended these meetings, offering counsel and encouragement.

He said the Mountain COG, which meets regularly, provides a forum for discussion, idea-sharing and action. Sometimes a good-faith effort to do something does not yield results immediately, but steps taken now can lead to success later, he said. A regional police department is a solid example, he said.

Five Hazleton area communities did a police study that eventually was shelved, mainly because Hazleton, as a city, has a pension plan that could not be tied to those in boroughs and townships.

"Hazleton was the cornerstone piece and without the city, the plan dwindled to two towns and then they too dropped the idea," Guydish said.

"A regional police force means a detective division for all communities. If everyone chips in, (the towns) can have it," he said, citing the benefit of police departments offering "bells and whistles" during a period of rising crime.

The Mountain COG's successes include purchase of a sewer inspection camera, at $80,000, with half paid via a state grant. Employees in the communities were trained to operate the camera, which can snake through sewer lines to detect leaks. Hazleton donated a van and the equipment is stored in the city.

The same scenario was used to buy a $50,000 tar kettle (half paid by the state). Using hot tar when patching potholes gives the patch longer life, Guydish said.

The communities buy road salt annually in bulk. When a town or school needs salt, it contacts the vendor and the salt is delivered to the community salt pile.

The COG is active in creating signs to promote the Hazleton area and it cooperates in the Rails to Trails program. Two miles of trail will be built soon to connect with four miles northeast of Hazleton, near Eckley Miners' Village. Eventually the trail will connect to the Delaware and Lehigh National Heritage Corridor.

One current project is possible use of a Hazleton street sign-making machine to produce signs at lower cost for any town needing a sign update, Guydish said.

Guydish cited Joe Yannuzzi, mayor of Hazleton, as spearhead of the Mountain COG while serving as a city councilman.

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